Chapter Four: Ongoing Assessment

Assessment is so much more than the spelling tests you take every Friday or those standardized test where you bubble, bubble, bubble and pray that you're not marking C too many times. There are many types of assessments, from formal to informal, from personal to content-based. A teacher must recognize that assessment is much, much more than pencil-and-paper tests. Assessment can tkae many forms. It can be something as simple as watching a student perform a task and deciding whether or not he/she needs further assistance or has achieved proficiency. It can be a comprehensive exam taken at the end of the year. It can be just about anything that measures student performance.

When used correctly, assessment is one of the most important parts of instruction. Good assessments can tell a teacher what a student knows and what a student needs to know; it guides instruction. Assessment should be ongoing, meaning that it should not just be something that occurs at a lessons end. A teacher can use assessment throughout a lesson to let him or her know when adjustments need to be made. If done properly, assessments can save a lot of time.

One of the most interesting topics to me in this chapter is authentic assessment. I am big on the idea of preparing students for the real world. Authentic assessment is a great way to do this, because it gives students a chance to do something that is similar to what they might one day do outside of school. I like authentic assessment, too, because it can help students begin to identify their interests. A student my find social studies boring if all he/she does is take notes, answers questions, and take pencil-paper tests. But if a student participates in a simulated archaeological dig, then he/she might discover a true passion.

Lingering Questions:
-How does a teacher find time to keep track of ongoing assessments? Is it something you get better at over time?

-Is there any way that we could restructure education so that standardized tests don't have so much influence over the way school is run?